Super Regional Preview: Miami (FL) at Florida

The Miami (FL) Hurricanes head north to Gainesville to take on the Florida Gators with a spot in the College World Series on the line. The Hurricanes enter with a 43-18 overall record after going 3-1 in the Coral Gables Regional. They opened with a 12-8 victory over Dartmouth before defeating Texas A&M 14-1. They then dropped a decision to Texas A&M 11-7 before winning the regional with a 10-3 victory. Florida enters with a 45-15 overall record after going a perfect 3-0 in the Regional with victories over Bethune-Cookman (7-3), Oregon State (10-2), and Florida Atlantic (15-0).

The Miami Hurricanes offense enters the weekend with a .298 batting average. They are led by ACC Player of the Year Yasmani Grandal who is hitting .411 with 14 homers and 58 RBI. Chris Pelaez is second on the team with a .314 average with 11 homers and 53 RBI. Nathan Melendres (.305 BA) and Scott Lawson (.303 BA) are the only other two hitters above .300. Harold Martinez leads the team with 21 homers and 69 RBI but has struggled to hit for average as he is only hitting .298.

The Miami staff has a team ERA of 3.75. They are led by Chris Hernandez who is 10-3 with a 2.77 ERA in 18 appearances (17 starts). Jason Santana is 5-3 with a 5.71 ERA in 16 appearances (14 starts). Daniel Miranda (5-2, 3.35 ERA) and David Gutierrez (5-2, 5.12) are tied for the team lead with five saves.

The Florida offense heads into the weekend with a team batting average of .303. They are led by senior center fielder Matt den Dekker with a .361 batting average with 13 homers and 48 RBI. He has also been good on the basepaths with 23 stolen bases in 29 attempts. Sophomore first baseman Preston Tucker is second on the squad with a .345 batting average with 11 homers and and 46 RBI. Freshman Austin Maddox is third on the squad with a .339 average with 17 homers and 68 RBI.

The Gators pitching staff has a staff ERA of 4.02. Alex Panteliodis leads the team with a 10-2 record with a 3.39 ERA while holding opponents to a .240 batting average against. Kevin Chapman leads the backend of the bullpen as he is 3-0 with a 1.28 ERA while having 11 saves.

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